Monday Mixtape, Vol. 180
It was a long week, so I will not be writing a lot here, but enjoy some tunes and your week!
Monday Mixtape, Vol. 179
A few notable musical events this past week:
Kings of Leon released their eighth album. While after a listen, I thought maybe this one is a mellow release, but no, it’s a snoozer. Caleb Followill is STILL PLAYING THE SAME GUITAR WITH THE SAME TONE AND THE SAME BAR CHORDS THAT HE’S BEEN PLAYING SINCE Only By the Night. WTF.
"The Bandit” is a totally regurgitated track in almost every sense and instrument from previous outings, but I can’t deny that chorus.
KOL used to be one of my favorite bands. Their first three albums still kick ass and sounded nothing like I had heard before. I will always love those albums (and really, their two albums after that are pretty good too.)
Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak created a supergroup, Silk Sonic, and all that can be said is DEAR GOD YES.
M.A.G.S. gives me indie rock Frank Ocean vibes. Really interested in this artist.
The bass line on the first track, “Slowly” by the young Irish band, NewDad, is a heaping of 90s grunge and a dash of shoegaze. Some Nirvana with a bit Pixies and a smidge of DIIV. Good stuff.
I can’t hate on Post Malone. I’ve been giving this guy love since 2015 when I had “White Iverson” on Monday Mixtape, Vol. 15! And when he covers Hootie for a Pokemon movie, I mean come on, let’s all just enjoy it.
I don’t know who she is, but Julia Jacklin is pretty badass.
Monday Mixtape, Vol. 178
Welcome to this week’s mixtape! I shouldn’t even be using an exclamation point because this mixtape is so chill and subdued.
Ichiko Aoba reminds me of Seu Jorge (who got famous by performing David Bowie tracks with his beautiful voice and classical guitar for Wes Anderson’s movie, The Life Aqautic). Her voice is so delicate, pure, and relaxing. The fact that she’s singing in another language makes it that much better to get lost in. The same can be said for the following track by the incomparable, Jose Gonzalez.
Hayley Williams of Paramore released a solo album a few weeks ago on the heels of her great 2020 solo album. This album, Flowers for Vases / descansos, sounds like a nod to Taylor Swift’s stripped-down phenomenal album, folklore. I love the album because Williams has a beautiful voice, and she’s a hell of songwriter. Mainly just her and her guitar, the album has so much room to breathe and relax in, and it sounds like Williams is in a place comfortable enough to air out all her troubles.
I accidentally came upon Juniper because I was looking for Junip, Jose Gonzalez’s band of yore, who have a instrumental featured on this mixtape. Fortunately, Juniper sound great and remind me a ton of a favorite newer band of mine and frequent contributor to this blog, Hippo Campus.
Ending the mixtape with my favorite type of instrumental, one layered in sustain from a piano. Keep calm and carry on.
Monday Mixtape, Vol. 177
Hope everyone enjoyed the Super Bowl…my favorite commercial was the GM-Will Ferrell-Norway commercial. The punch through the globe did it for me lol.
Threw some jams together that should make you bop your head, starting with infectious Offset, he of fame from the rap trio Migos. Dude is awesome, love his flow.
Lots of random stuff on this one, including a single from Lana Del Rey, a great ballad from Taylor Swift’s second album of 2019, and more.
That’s all I got! Have a good week.
Monday Mixtape, Vol. 176
Happy 2021 all! And what a 2021 it’s been so far.
There has been very little new music released this year, but thankfully, we have an incredible live version of Bombay Bicycle Club’s phenomenal 2009 release, I Had The Blues But I Shook Them Loose. This live album is even better than the recorded album, a rare feat! It showcases the range of LOUD, symbol crashes, and excellent drum fills with the subtleties of intricate rhythm guitar playing and angelic off-kilter vocals. This is a piece of art, and I’ve already bought the vinyl to treasure for years to come. Enjoy a few of my favorites.
As for the rest of the mixtape, we have a great new track from Ab-Soul, one of my favorite rappers from many years ago who has fallen off the face of the earth since his last awful album (which got a brutal review in Pitchfork). So maybe there’s still some hope for him.
As for a more recent great rapper (and occupier of one of my Top 25 Albums of 2020) who I hope can continue to make great stuff, Kota the Friend released a 15 minute mixtape, and “Luke Cage” might be my fave of the many very short tracks.
Finally, this Myd track featuring Mac Demarco remixed by Metronomy is such a strange song, but I love it. Myd seems as weird as Mac Demarco, and that’s saying something!
Enjoy the week.
Top 25 Albums of 2020
Taylor Swift - folklore
BENEE - Hey u x
Mac Miller - Circles
Tame Impala - The Slow Rush
Beach Bunny - Honeymoon
Run the Jewels - RTJ4
Sufjan Stevens - The Ascension
Fleet Foxes - Shore
SAULT - Untitled (Rise)
HAIM - Women In Music Pt. III
Dua Lipa - Future Nostalgia
Georgia - Seeking Thrills
Glass Animals - Dreamland
Delta Spirit - What Is There
Caribou - Suddenly
Amine - Limbo
Marlowe - Marlowe 2
Samia - The Baby
The Neighbourhood - Chip Chrome & The Mono-Tones
Fiona Apple - Fetch The Bolt Cutters
Statik Selektah - The Balancing Act
Kota the Friend - EVERYTHING
Dogleg - Melee
21 Savage & Metro Boomin - SAVAGE MODE II
Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever - Sideways to New Italy
Top 100 Songs of 2020
Video Game – Sufjan Stevens
WHATS POPPIN – Jack Harlow
Supalonely (feat. Gus Dapperton) – BENEE
august – Taylor Swift
Blue World – Mac Miller
Your Love (Déjà Vu) – Glass Animals
Is It True – Tame Impala
The Wheel – SOHN, Metropole Orkest
Pretty Please – Dua Lipa
Cherry Flavoured – The Neighbourhood
Promises – Beach Bunny
Gamesofluck - Parcels
ooh la la (feat. Greg Nice & DJ Premier) – Run The Jewels
Kool – BENEE
Everybody – Mac Miller
Light One Write One – Elzhi
Can I Believe You – Fleet Foxes
Joy Of My Life – Chris Stapleton
Borderline – Tame Impala
the last great american dynasty – Taylor Swift
SMELLS LIKE INCENSE – Jack Harlow
Woodlawn – Aminé
The Good Ones – Widowspeak
People, I've been sad – Christine and the Queens
Edge of Town – Middle Kids
Tangerine – Glass Animals
Santos Party House – Smoke DZA, Wiz Khalifa, Curren$y, Big K.R.I.T., Girl Talk
Eugene – Arlo Parks
Starting Over – Chris Stapleton
Kawasaki Backflip – Dogleg
Hammond Song – Whitney
Sunblind – Fleet Foxes
The Things We Do – Foster The People
Better Distractions – Faye Webster
If You’re Too Shy (Let Me Know) – The 1975
April – Beach Bunny
Don't Wanna – HAIM
Déjá Vu – The Dead Tongues
I Don't Belong – Fontaines D.C.
17 – Pink Sweat$
Laugh Now Cry Later (feat. Lil Durk) – Drake
Ode to a Conversation Stuck in Your Throat – Del Water Gap
I Feel High – Poolside, Ben Browning
Rich Nigga Shit (feat. Young Thug) – 21 Savage, Metro Boomin, Young Thug
Nebraska Dreams – Joshua Lee Turner
Making Sense – Delta Spirit
Landslide – Sufjan Stevens
Small Business – Marlowe, L'Orange, Solemn Brigham
Keep It Moving (feat. Nas, Joey Bada$$, & Gary Clark Jr.) – Statik Selektah
Minnesota – Samia
Afterthought – Joji, BENEE
Started Out – Georgia
I Know The End – Phoebe Bridgers
The Climb Back – J. Cole
Rare Air – Mildlife
Shiva (with JID & EARTHGANG feat. Benji. & Jurdan Bryant) – Spillage Village
Yesterday – Dan Croll
FEDS – Nick Grant, Tae Beast
Hit Different – SZA, The Neptunes, Pharrell Williams, Ty Dolla $ign
Mr. Man & K.i.D – KYLE
Give It To Me – Pink Sweat$
Swimming Pool – Eliza & The Delusionals
Real Love Song – Nothing But Thieves
Savage Remix (feat. Beyoncé) – Megan Thee Stallion
out of sight (feat. 2 Chainz) – Run The Jewels
Drifter – Tree Theater
Feel You – My Morning Jacket
Introduction – Joshua Lee Turner
Preach Honest – Marlowe, L'Orange, Solemn Brigham
Graceless Kids – Best Coast
anywhere – Jonah Yano
Windows Cry – REASON
VERY ALONE – Zaia
Dionne (feat. Justin Vernon) – The Japanese House
Extinct – REASON, Isaiah Rashad, JID
Underneath – Public Practice
Lo Mein – Lil Uzi Vert
Moments / Tides – Goth Babe
RIP Luv – 21 Savage, Metro Boomin
Falling Thunder – Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever
Eat, Sleep, Wake (Nothing But You) – Bombay Bicycle Club
She Knows This – Kid Cudi
OK – Wallows
And It's Still Alright – Nathaniel Rateliff
Cuba – Theophilus London
Sign – Roosevelt
Black Habits I (feat. Jackie Gouché) – D Smoke
Canyonheart – Israel Nash
Thank God I Made It (feat. Queen Naija) – Benny The Butcher
Every Tradition – Bully
Opaline – Jeff Tweedy
Mustang – Bartees Strange
B.Q.E – Kota the Friend, Joey Bada$$, Bas
honey – boy pablo
Bluebird – Gus Dapperton
Fits – Do Nothing
Life – Dom Kennedy, 24hrs, Casey Veggies
anything – Adrianne Lenker
Lifetime – Romy
King – Ark Patrol
Monday Mixtape, Vol. 175
Another indie star is in blossom! I recently listened to Samia’s debut album, The Baby, and I’m smitten. It’s pop music, but it also could be inserted into any hipsters playlist where people would be “Hey, who’s this?”
Kid Cudi released a new album, and I still need to spend some time digesting. But “Tequila Shots” and “She Knows This” are standouts for me so far.
A famous rap producer, Statik Selektah, is clearly influenced by DJ Premier, Q-Tip. It’s a nice homage to those jazz-sampled beats. He released a great album with all sorts of great rappers, and the more I heard Jack Harlow’s track, the more I came to like it.
Bartees Strange is every critic’s favorite new artist. His debut album is all over the place, but he does it well. I like him, but I need to spend a lot more time with the album.
Next week or two I’ll be posting my favorite 100 songs and 25 albums of 2020! Get pumped!!
Monday Mixtape, Vol. 174
In my writeup last week on BENEE, her sound had influences of the xx. Sure enough, one member of the xx, Romy, starts this week’s mixtape! “Lifetime” is a hell of an upbeat electro track. You’ll be nodding your head in no time.
Last week, you may have also noticed the name Gus Dapperton featured on the infectious “Supalonely” by BENEE (so much BENEE!!), and it just so happens Ol’ Gus released a new album in November as well. The bass line to “Bluebird” gets me every time.
PUP had my #1 album of 2019, and they’ve followed that amazeballsness with a lackluster EP (insert Price Is Right horn…), but “Nothing Changes” is certainly worth a listen. You know what? No. I’m not putting it on the mixtape. It didn’t make the cut. Sorry pooch!
I've listened to Chris Stapleton’s album a number of times, and I’m disappointed. It’s inconsistent. There are no bad songs per se, but for a guy with SO much talent, and one of the greatest voices of his generation (don’t you dare say no), I keep waiting for an oh my god this is a classic album. Some may argue his debut, Traveller, is a classic, but I think it’s a notch or two below that.
We still gifted beautiful songs (like “Joy Of My Life”) and kick-ass ones (like “Arkansas”).
I hadn’t heard of Marlowe until I asked a guy on Twitter what his fave albums this year were. Marlowe’s recent album - he also listed RTJ4, Aesop Rock’s new one, Alfredo (Freddie Gibbs and Alchemist), unlocked (Denzel Curry and Kenny Beats) Jay Electronica, Clams Casino’s instrumental, and Westside Gunn’s Pray for Paris - Marlowe 2, is very unique, in your face in a punkish way, and a blast to listen to. So far, my fave track is “Small Business,” so listen up!
Jonah Yano is this weird dude I stumbled upon, one of those Andrew Bird or Patrick Watson “out there” types whose music just sounds smart and ephemeral. “Anywhere” is a beautiful track, and you might get Jeff Buckley vibes.
Threw in a little more REASON for the rap heads out there.
Monday Mixtape, Vol. 173 - Introducing the World's Next Pop Star - BENEE
All I can say is BENEE enraptured my attention from the the first note of the first track I heard, the first track of this week’s Monday Mixtape, “Happen to Me.”
Every once in a while, a song really catches my attention, but when it’s a new artist I’ve never heard, I’m usually skeptical. It’s probably a one-off, I think to myself. But I have to look into the album where the song came from when I hear a track like this. And so begins my love of BENEE.
BENEE is of the Lorde / Billie Eilish / Grimes / SZA mold, I guess, simply because she’s a young (20 years old!) female with a sound that resonates with the times. Like Lorde, she’s from Auckland, New Zealand. Like SZA, she’s got more soul, R&B, and funk in her songs than any of the others could even try.
More importantly, the others got massively popular with the release of one album, and I think the same is going to happen to BENEE. She’s got six or seven big hits on her just-released album, Hey u x.
She’s got a great voice, a sweet wispy, almost husky serenade. Her vocals really shine when she’s performing on bare tracks like “C U,” “Want Me Back,” or when she shows up as a feature like Joji’s “Afterthought.” (which isn’t on this playlist!)
She’s got a better voice than Lorde, Grimes, and Eilish, but her lyrics are pretty usual, at least in Lorde standards. She’s not the creative solo genius that Grimes brings to the table, but almost every one of her songs is catchy, and there aren’t bad tracks. They all have great drum beats, lay on the synths and spacey effects when needed, and her vocals and intonations always make the song stronger. Her album sounds like a team that’s been playing together for years, seamlessly in sync at every bridge, chorus, intro, and outro.
I also hear influence from other bands I love, like the xx (if you don’t hear the xx on “Happen To Me” than you crazy!) and Beach House. Her songs, like theirs, can be very subtle: a guitar lick (the one on “Monsta” is so sick), a drum beat, her vocals, and occasionally bits of keyboards and synths too add some memorable spice. She makes subtle sweet and powerful.
On Spotify, she’s currently 343rd in the world. Not bad (seriously)! I’m going to go on a limb and guarantee she’ll be in the Top 50 by the end of 2021.
This is your year, BENEE!